Page:John Banks Wilson - Maneuver and Firepower (1998).djvu/334

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312
MANEUVER AND FIREPOWER

An image should appear at this position in the text.1st Battalion, 60th Infantry, at Fort Richardson, AlaskaEventually four more Regular Army brigades were organized in addition to the 193d and 197th Infantry Brigades (Table 25). To test new materiel at Fort Ord, California, the Combat Developments Command formed the 194th Armored Brigade, which assumed the mission of the 5th Infantry Division element. United States Army, Alaska, organized the 171st and 172d Infantry Brigades at Forts Wainwright and Richardson, and U.S. Army, Pacific, organized the 173d Airborne Brigade in March 1963 on Okinawa. The 2d Battle Group, 503d Infantry, stationed there since 1960, and the 1st Battle Group, 503d Infantry, deployed from Fort Bragg, formed the nucleus of that brigade. Shortly thereafter the 173d’s battle groups were reorganized as airborne infantry battalions. Berlin, however, did not receive a table of organization infantry brigade but retained the Berlin Brigade organized in 1961 under a mission-oriented table of distribution and allowances.[1]

In the Army Reserve some former divisional units assigned to the 79th, 94th, 96th, and 103d Infantry Divisions were used to organize four brigades, which added flexibility to the force as well as provided four general officer reserve billets. In January and February 1963 the 157th, 187th, 191st, and 20Sth Infantry Brigades were organized with headquarters in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Montana, and Minnesota, respectively (see Table 25). As with the Regular Army brigades, the number and type of maneuver elements in each Army Reserve brigade varied.[2]

The 34th, 35th, 43d, and 51st Infantry Divisions, multistate National Guard units, dropped out of the force during the reorganization, and in part were replaced by the 67th (Nebraska and Iowa), 69th (Kansas and Missouri), 86th (Vermont and Connecticut), and 53d (Florida and South Carolina) Infantry Brigades. Each brigade fielded five maneuver elements. In addition, the governors also agreed to maintain the 34th (Iowa), 35th (Missouri), 43d (Connecticut), 51st (South Carolina), and 55th (Florida) Command Headquarters to supervise the training of combat and support units located in the former divisional areas, The states also reorganized the 29th, 92d, and 258th Infantry Brigades, which had been formed in 1959.[3]

  1. Ltr, TAG to CG, U.S. Army Combat Developments Command, 4 Dec 62, sub: Change in Status of Units, AGAO-O (M) (26 Nov 62) DCSPER, 194th Armd Bde file, Ltr, TAG to CG, U.S. Army, Alaska, 20 May 63, sub: Change in Status of Units, AGAO-O (M) (1 May 63) DCSPER, 171st Inf Bde file, Ltr, TAG to CinC, USARPAC, 2 May 63, sub; Activation of 173d Airborne Brigade, AGAO-O (M) (26 Mar 63) DCSPER, 173d Abn Bde file, and Ltr, TAG to CinC, USARPAC, 31 Jul 63, sub: Reorganization of the 173d Airborne Brigade, AGAO-O (M) (28 Jun 63) DCSPER, 173d Abn Bde file, all DAMH-HSO, As a Table of Distribution and Allowance unit, the Berlin Brigade was not counted as a part of division and brigade forces.
  2. "Reorganization of Army Reserve," Army Reservist, p. 7; "157th Infantry Brigade," Army Reserve Magazine, 12 (Jul–Aug 66): 4–5; Historical Data Card, 187th Inf Bde, GO 1, Sixth U.S. Army, 1962, 191st Inf Bde file, GO 1, XIV U.S. Army Corps, 1963, 205th Inf Bde file, all DAMH-HSO, The designation of each brigade was derived from the lowest numbered infantry brigade associated with the division under the square structure.
  3. Annual Report of the Chief, National Guard Bureau Report, FY 1963, p. 27; see notes based on NG letters, 1963, copies in author's files.